the continuing conversation between art and life
One way to find time to write poetry while working full-time, is to write in your lunch-hour. Frank O'Hara did. Even with a hangover. Some of his poems begin by noting the time (his lunch hour seems to have been 12 to 1 pm) and then he simply says what he's doing, eating, feeling and …
Continue reading "Writing poetry in lunchtime: Frank O’Hara"
If you've ever wanted advice on "How to be a Poet", there's a book with precisely that title, by key UK poetry publisher Nine Arches press, published in a few days' time (20th December 2017.) It's written by Jo Bell and Jane Commane - who are poets and editors in their own write (right). The …
Just heard about this - minutes away from the 1st of November - a Poem-a-day challenge to write in response to a prompt - then make the best poems into a chapbook (poetry booklet) of 10-20 page before midnight 15th January. Challenge by Writer's Digest. Why Take Part? Why not? There is no entry …
Continue reading "7 reasons to write a poem a day in November"
Headsup: November is the NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - a free programme which sets you a deadline to write a novel in a month. November. It's based in America, but it is international. Details here: So if you have a half-written novel in a drawer somewhere, or a brilliant idea you haven't got …
Zines - are informal, booklets of loosely themed photos or text (can be brief poetry) - pretty much hand printed, hand stapled, passed around. Instead of waiting for a publisher to notice your brilliance as a poet, you can print small zines - ideally with your own or a friend's photos or illustrations to add …
Feel you want to write or draw something, but just not sure what to tackle, today? Or want fresh warmup challenges? Sketchbook Skool have given a challenge a day for August! What do you mean - it's a little bit late telling us this, August has started already?! Do I hear dissension? Verily, I raise …
If writing a poem seems absurd - still, why not? Perhaps it's equally strange not to write? Our encouragement to write, today, is from Nobel poet, Wislawa Szymborska of Poland I prefer to leave early. I prefer talking to doctors about something else. I prefer the old fine-lined illustrations. I prefer the absurdity of writing poems …
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Advice on beginning to write poetry by US Poet Laureate, Billy Collins. (Video under 3 mins.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP9reBY7EwM Read other people's poetry. Read widely. Read. Read. A lot. ABout 10,000 hours worth, to get a sense of what has gone before. As you read, you are naturally absorbing the technique and rhythms of poetry. …
Stumbled across this today on the blog Julie Unplugged: "10 smart ways to use your phone to improve your writing" Listen to conversation around you and capture rich/true dialogue using your audio recording setting. Take photos, especially those surprise images to write about later. Once you set the intention to be surprised visually, you'll spot …
So, writer/wouldbewriter, the Christmas hols are over, either a) you want to sit down at the computer and write for publication, but the horror of the flashing cursor on a blank page daunts you b) someone has bought you a lovely journal to write in - or you've got your eye on that beautiful exercise …
